Malawi Minister George Chaponda chased by angry villagers

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George-Chaponda

Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, George Chaponda this morning failed to attend an event on tapping water from Mulanje after angry community members in the district blocked the road and chased him away, Malawi24 can report.

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Chaponda got chased.

Blantyre Water Board (BWB) wants to pump water from Likhubula in Mulanje to distribute it to residents in the commercial city.

But villagers in Mulanje made it known to government that the initiative will not take off unless another project is introduced to plant trees in Likhubula.

The community members also want to benefit from the potable water that will be pumped from their area.

Government officials may have thought the villagers were not serious about the demands but they got a rude awakening today when Chaponda – in the company of his ministry’s Principal Secretary Erica Maganga and Member of Parliament for Mulanje Pasani Angie Kaliati – was chased away by the irate community members.

The villagers were also incensed by government’s claims that communities in Likhubula had acquiesced to the BWB initiative, a claim which the villagers denied.

HERE ARE THE IMAGES

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Locals ganging up to chase Chaponda.
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Tree branches were used together with stones to chase Chaponda.
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Go away Mr. Minister. Locals chasing the Minister..